Editorial elevated

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We plan for success

At the heart of every tailored strategy we develop sits a plan designed to weave seamlessly into your brand’s own communications narrative, whilst at the same time elevating your editorial to new levels of excellence.

And because the Internet happens in real time, our planning ensures we’re always available to react instantly when things get lively.

We strive for better

Every word, pixel and frame we create goes through our stringent editorial process to ensure it is as honed and engaging as it can possibly be. It’s a method that evolves in real time and it constantly pushes our standards ever higher.

We hunt for better

As good as our content aims to be, we don’t have a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude. Quite simply, because they won’t. We use best practise SEO that attracts the search bots, but doesn’t sound like they have written it.

We have also developed an innovative method of content marketing which delivers beyond expectation. We call it ‘Passive Syndication’. Our clients call it bloody brilliant.

Video production

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Our award-winning filmmakers produce a wide variety of video, from basic product introductions to behind-the-scenes documentaries and senior-executive interviews. But all with one ambition, to be best in class. And all based on our ‘listen and respond’ protocol.

Being the best

For us it’s not about working to a budget or a timeframe. It’s about making the best piece of filmed content we possibly can. Often to the detriment of our health and sanity, but always to the benefit of our clients. The briefs we work to are both challenging and exciting, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.

No shortcuts, no easy ways out, no soft options.

Over the last three years our videos have been viewed over 20 million times, with an average of 145k views per film.

You control your budget

We don’t bill by the hour. We set fixed prices for work and stick to them. We allow for changes in scope and adapt as our client’s needs change. Barring any complete disasters, natural or otherwise, you can rest assured the price you pay is what you’ve agreed up front. Of course if you want to pick up the pizza tab at the end of the shoot, racked up during our long nights spent honing and crafting your piece, we’d certainly appreciate the gesture.

Websites redefined

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We’re not just an editorial agency. We apply the same rigorous approach and creative ambition to the websites we build as the content we use to populate them. We manage projects on a broad scale from simple migrations through to full-service news centres.

Connecting brands with people

We’ve developed PressCore, our own WordPress framework packed with proprietary features. Our development team strive to find ever higher levels of ingenuity when tasked with finding lasting solutions to our clients’ briefs.

Power to the people

Every site we create is deeply integrated with key social networks, enabling fluid distribution of content. Our sites give people what they want, on their terms. We work with the best designers who can articulate your needs, intuitively combine them with our innovations, so that people simply love it

Let our people talk to your people

We take the best of your brand and extend it into new territory whilst at all times articulating your brand’s values and central promise. We understand the needs and concerns of enterprise IT teams delivering the requirements to ensure any large scale deployment is both secure and robust.

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Social loved

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We treat social channels like mini publications. Each one gets treated to our exacting approach to editorial planning, brilliantly effective execution and our persistent determination to understand what the people who use it want more of.

Crossing the channels

Deeply aligned, social channels can enable a brand to extend its story to people where they want it and on their terms. We play to the strengths of each social media platform and how people want to interact with them. We develop a social media and content strategy which communicates brilliantly in each individual channel, but knits neatly together to form a cohesive narrative.

The Social Pipeline

Weaving a brand’s story across different channel enables the story to develop and evolve with direct interaction from a variety of audiences. We call our proprietary methodology The Social Pipeline and we’ve love to show you how it works.

People Loved

Developing an audience across social media requires deep understanding of what they want and need. Thankfully that’s one of our biggest strengths. Our approach to social media takes on a journey into each channel, developing our understanding of what’s required and delivering a solution that exceeds expectation.

A Framework For Content

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We listen

There are plenty of content marketing agencies out there in love with the sound of their own voice. We, on the other hand, prefer to listen.

We take more time than most to sit down with clients and really understand what they want. And just as importantly, we listen to how audiences react, then engage with them, using their insight to ensure our content marketing is bang on the money.

We nurture

Let’s get one thing straight; we’re not a content farm. If you want wafer thin pieces of puff pumped out by the bucket load, then we are not the agency for you. That’s because we are passionate about what we do and care about every article, video and platform we create.

We think beyond

The publication of our content doesn’t signal the end of our task, it heralds the beginning of something even better. We are relentless, some might say fanatical, about aiming higher and further with every new project. So we don’t repurpose successful formats and never re-use ideas. Every piece of work is a bespoke response to an individual client’s content marketing requirements.

Chainsaw mini-documentary

video

BRIEF: Bring to life the benefits of Stihl’s new professional lightweight cordless chainsaw.

During our initial research we discovered there’s a lot of love out there from professionals who rely on Stihl outdoor power tools to carry out extremely specialist work. We wanted to tell their stories, and this mini-documentary is the first in a series that brings their experiences with Stihl products to life. The work that tree-climbing Arborists carry out is a remarkable feat of skill, and the brilliant team working at Westonbirt Arboretum proved the perfect case study for articulating how Stihl’s new lightweight cordless chainsaw is an invaluable tool for helping them carry out tree surgery at heights that would make your head spin.

Cordless range video

BRIEF: Create a video to be used at events and online to showcase the benefits of the new Stihl and Viking cordless power system.

We worked closely and collaboratively with Stihl on the initial concept development for the video, and devised a simple and compelling test to prove how impressive the performance of its lithium-ion cordless power system really is. Using a very real and relatable domestic gardening scenario we were able to create engaging evidence of the benefits and versatility of the range. Plus, we got our thumbs green and learned a thing or two about how to whip a scruffy garden into shape.

Stihl

Video

The hidden beauty of Vitamin C

BRIEF: Support Sharp’s Quattron Pro TV campaign with beautiful video.

To support our #SeeTheUnseen campaign for Sharp for the release of their Quattron Pro TV range, we commissioned David Maitland, an award-winning microscopic photographer, to capture Vitamin C at the crystalline level.

We filmed the process from beginning to end, giving an insight into the techniques and technology needed. The video and supporting editorial were picked up by several key influencers, including Boing Boing and a full page spread in Digital Camera magazine.

Seeing the unseen with Quattron

Pro

The Quattron Pro’s USP is that it has the best Full HD image in the world with 2.5 as many sub-pixels as a standard HD TV. We created a campaign that leveraged this ability for pin-sharp detail with a visually led social media competition. We commissioned one of the UK’s top nature photographers, David Maitland, to take four microscopic images. Users were asked to guess the subject matter of one of these beautiful extreme close-ups via Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #SeeTheUnseen for the chance to win a Quattron Pro TV. Clues were released daily to encourage greater user engagement.

The competition far exceeded our expectations with a huge increase in user engagement – on Twitter alone we increased engagement by an astonishing 3,488%.

Sharp

Social

Taking Red Bull Gaming

international

BRIEF: Establish Red Bull as a credible source for gaming and professional eSports coverage worldwide.

Since we started in 2012 we’ve taken our gaming coverage on Red Bull from the UK to the world, and we’re now making sure top quality features on every aspect of video games hit the international Red Bull website every single day. From breaking news to exclusive interviews and all-access previews, we’ve established Red Bull as a credible voice in gaming and eSports on both sides of the Atlantic, with our stories regularly covered by the web’s biggest video games news sites, including IGN, Polygon and Kotaku.

Cooking up a social win with

Chop-Syc

BRIEF: Put together a social-led competition to win a paid-internship at Sharp Laboratories of Europe.

Humans Invent is all about championing brilliant ideas and innovation, and now we’re making them happen too. We came up with the #GetItDownOnPaper competition to position Sharp as ‘inventors for society’, and asked entrants to jot down their best ideas on a piece of paper, tweeting them with a hashtag.

What followed was a flurry of submissions, and eventually, a winner emerged: Siobhán Andrews, a Sustainable Product Design student at Falmouth University, whose interactive chopping board, Chop-Syc, made waves with the Sharp scientists, and after a prototype was created, with blogs and news outlets across the web too. The resulting video’s racked up over 100,000 plays on storytelling site Vimeo – not bad for an idea drawn on a napkin. Find out all the details on our blog.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact Nigel Brown:+44 (0)7525 328 977nb@republicpublishing.co.uk

Giving Vodafone Social a

Rhombus redesign

BRIEF: Give Vodafone Social a makeover to match the company’s new branding.

Vodafone’s latest brand change meant we had to follow suit with a re-design to Vodafone Social, and that means a new can of paint for a new look. We responded with a re-design to the mobile, tablet and desktop versions of the official UK blog that followed the guidelines to the letter, matching the new ‘Rhombus’ design in Vodafone’s websites and advertising.

It’s still as smart as before: it’ll detect what platform you’re using, from a simple mobile phone to a tablet, and optimise its layout just for you. It’s just quicker and easier on the eyes – something you’ll appreciate which ever side of the iPhone/Android divide your allegiances lie.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

Making the Minx Go move

BRIEF: Produce a compelling launch video that brings to life the spirit of the product.

When it comes to making a launch video for a brand new product, we don’t want to tread the same path taken by our competitors: we set out to pave our own way. For the launch of Cambridge Audio’s new Minx Go speaker, we produced an enthralling video the company could use in all its online materials, making sure that it brought to life the playful personality of a small product with very big sound. See for yourself.

A mind-reading mobile site

BRIEF: Create a uniquely innovative mobile version of O2′s blog and press centre, The Blue.

A mobile website for a mobile network? The bar for that is set pretty high, but we jumped it by demonstrating a deep understanding of smartphone owners, as well as devices.

The Blue works on all modern mobiles and tablets, but more importantly builds on research into mobile user behaviour to automatically serve content they’re interested in. The result is a spookily relevant mobile site, without additional input from users, or long winded menus. O2 can also target specific sectors of its audience with bespoke messaging and content.

A website worth savouring

The World of Fine Wine is a highly regarded resource for investors, wine fanciers and professional sommeliers. We built a website that allows articles to be searched and filtered, wines found, books ordered and events discovered by region, type or even by describing a taste or smell.

A special porous paywall protects premium content while keeping search visibility high and generating subscription marketing leads. It’s responsive too, so you can consume Fine Wine content on any device.

QFSL video book

BRIEF: Create a mini bible for commissioning brilliant online video.

Over the years we’ve been asked countless questions about making videos, and we’ve notched up some invaluable experience and gathered a bunch of useful insights. So rather than eat our own tails, we decided to serve up these morsels of advice as 11 tasty bite-size chunks in a book that you can read in a single train journey. It was made with one simple goal: to help anyone working in marketing or communications to commission great online video.

Business

Video

An all new Quarto.com

BRIEF: Re-design The Quarto Group’s website, encouraging exploration of its 38 subsidiaries, as well as integrating financial data.

The Quarto Group is the world’s largest publisher of illustrated books, spanning the UK, Australia, New Zealand, China and the USA. Our challenge was to encourage exploration of its diverse publishing activities, which we did with a single-page design, dynamic search, filtering and pop-ups. This engaging and playful navigation also avoids leading visitors through complex journeys.

Aggregated financial data is formatted automatically, and available within the main Quarto site like never before.

Video series: Digital Futures

BRIEF: Produce and deliver a brand new video series exploring industry insights in cutting edge tech. Each episode shot in day.

The deadline is king, so it’s questions first shoot later. Particularly with such a tight window for capturing each episode. Great planning and collaboration with the Telefonica Digital team enabled us to swerve a set of both common and fresh pitfalls, and focus on directing the shoot with our streamlined crew and set-up, meaning we could switch locations swiftly and simply. Alongside capturing the content, we were tasked with defining the visual style for this new ongoing show. This meant crafting an animated opening sequence, coupled with various other graphical identities to set a unique, vibrant and engaging tone.

NokNok's biggest makeover

BRIEF: Redesign NokNok.tv and reflect the shift to the all-new Windows Phone platform.

The original NokNok was our first ever design and build project, back in 2007. Our latest iteration, the site’s fourth full redesign, takes more than a handful of design cues from Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system, and reflects the colour and vitality of the new Nokia Lumia range of handsets. But they’re not the only innovations. Go to NokNok.tv and change the size of the browser window. Cool, huh?

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992 | jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

Lumia 920 official launch video

BRIEF: Create a compelling and personal first-look launch video of Nokia’s flagship phone, the Lumia 920. Again, in less than 24 hours!

The challenge with the Lumia 920 is that it introduces so many game-changing new features, meaning we had to ruthlessly select and communicate only a handful. Benefits that would resonate with everyone! We achieved this within 24hrs through intensive interviews and research, followed by loose scripting, spokesperson coaching and a semi-improvised shoot to keep things relaxed and authentic, yet deeply authoritative. We then actively seeded and passively syndicated the video to key online influencers globally, which resulted in over 1 million views in little over a week!

The Blue: online media centre

BRIEF: Combine a range of services and functionality to create a single home for O2 UK’s online communications.

The comms team at O2 were tired. Tired of using rubbish systems. Tired of the lack of integration with different services. Tired of using an ageing blogging platform. They tasked us with the challenge of tidying the whole lot up. We created PressCore, our new proprietary technology platform which delivers a brilliant array of features for a next-generation socially driven press office. We also turned the concept of an image bank on its head and added some pretty cool HTML tricks and features into the mix.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992 | jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

To boldly go where no site has

been before

A 3D gaming handheld. Star Trek. Stereoscopic technology. Three things that came together in one sublime Humans Invent piece: an exclusive behind the scenes video shot by our skilled production team, a photo shoot by photographer Richard Grassie and an interview with Sharp Labs’ 3D expert Jonathan Mather, who narrates the story of 3D’s past, present and future, and how Sharp’s on the way to building a real life holodeck.

Taking the (Red) Bull by the

horns

There are some brands we’d always wanted to work with. Red Bull was one such brand and when the opportunity came along to help them with their editorial, we jumped at it. Initially drafted in to help evolve their gaming editorial, we’re also responsible for action sports and ensuring the best of Red Bull’s content is given pride of place on the site. Working directly with the in-house team, we provide a mix of editorial strategy, planning and execution. They provide the energy.

808 PureView video documentary

BRIEF: Create a documentary about the Nokia 808 PureView, filming the entire video with it to showcase its innovative camera.

We normally shoot video on Canon 5D MKII cameras. It gives amazing results and we love the look and feel of the finished product. The Nokia 808 PureView, which boasts a 41-megapixel camera (in a phone!) offered us a new challenge. Shooting this documentary took months of planning, a whole week of shooting in Finland and the UK and a bunch of time editing. We’re really proud of the finished product. You could hardly tell it was shot on a smartphone.

Social media for North America

BRIEF: Become Nokia’s lead Social Media Agency in the USA.

We’re a UK company, with global ambitions. 2012 saw those ambitions realised with our first (quickly followed by a second) client in the USA. Nokia needed help developing their social media channels for its rebirth in the USA. They turned to us and in the first six months we doubled their Facebook fans, trebled their Twitter followers and every day engage and entertain with high quality content.

All of this is underpinned by a pre-determined strategy, a solid but reactive editorial calendar and the best guns for hire in the business.

Gearing the Gurus with

knowledge

We came up with deep dive reports, filled to the brim with analysis, insight, explanations, feature ideas, glossary terminology and everything O2’s Gurus needed to know to stay on the bleeding-edge in the world of tech. We acted as the lynchpin for all of O2’s Guru agency output from video to editorial, and brought in all the expertise they could ever need.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Return of the Flying Scotsman

The Flying Scotsman. Washing Machine parts. The World Hour Record. An irritated cycling fraternity. That was cycling in the mid 90s and one of its most controversial figures, Graeme Obree. The Scot came from nowhere to steal the hour record and now, almost 20 years later, he’s set his sights on the human-powered land speed record. We’ve been filming Obree since Spring 2012 and through a series of mini documentaries, charted his progress towards his big goal.

New approach to a company blog

BRIEF: Create a new owned-media channel for Vodafone UK.

Vodafone Social breaks new conventions for Republic and Vodafone. When the company came to us looking for a new approach to creating a corporate blog, we turned the traditional blog on its head and created something that would look great on a phone and gracefully upscale to look great on tablets and desktop (the norm is to do this the other way around). With a single site (no m. here) and smart use of HTML5 and CSS3 we’ve created a site which looks and works brilliantly on any platform.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992 | jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

Lumia 900 official launch video

BRIEF: Deliver an authentic product launch video which shows off the best the Nokia Lumia 900 has to offer. In less than 24 hours!

We had less than a day to script, shoot and edit the video which would form the centre piece of online communications for Nokia’s newest flagship device. Having produced similar videos previously we, and the team at Nokia, knew what to expect. We drafted in Chanse Arington from the Nokia USA team to present the video, shooting the day before the device was revealed to the press. The video was edited and approved overnight, ready for launch the next day. 1.3m views and counting.

Conversations editorial

evolution

BRIEF: Turn the official Nokia blog into a world-class publication.

Behind the fourth evolution of Nokia Conversations, the official Nokia blog, was much more than just creating a site that worked great on iPad. We wanted to radically transform this authoritative platfrom from a stock-in-trade blog to a world-class publication.

To achieve this we knew we had to up our word game and ensure we push harder and deeper to bring the best stories out of Nokia, and build better bridges between the people who make Nokia and those who buy its products.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910 | jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Conversations on an iPad?

Here's how!

Three years after its launch, and nine months into its third redesign, Nokia came to us with a simple (but hugely complex) question – “How could we get Conversations onto iPad?”

Getting a Nokia app through iTunes was out of the question so we came up with an alternate solution – we’ll build something that looks, acts and feels like an app when on an iPad, but make it available through a standard web browser. We pushed some boundaries, and boy does it work brilliantly!

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992 | jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

At a glance: the Symbian Belle

video

BRIEF: Create a video to educate people on the benefits of the Symbian Belle platform.

Following a series of in-depth one-to-one interviews with the designers of Symbian Belle we soon discovered a narrative that would connect with anyone who owned a smartphone. The insight is that we all spend too much time heads-down looking at our phones, so this team of passionate problem-solvers had designed ways to make your phone more ‘glance-able’ through Symbian Belle. This notion of ‘glance-ability’ formed the central thread for our short documentary film, which received over 37k views on YouTube.

The machine that grows gadgets

BRIEF: Bring one of Sharp’s most advanced machines to life through video.

One of the benefits of working with a brand such as Sharp is getting inside the bowels of the company to explore the company’s R&D department. Our video crew went on a mission to Sharp’s Oxford-based laboratories to discover how its Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) machine works.

Narrated by one of the centre’s scientists, the video was an instant success, thanks to its exciting headline and futuristic-like setting. The video was also passively syndicated amongst a wide selection of external online media.

Making the best look better

BRIEF: Make Nokia’s Oro luxury phone look the best it can on a shoestring budget.

With leather from Scotland’s finest Caledonian herds, 18-carat gold plating and a sapphire crystal on top, we took Nokia’s finest Oro phone for a spin and gave it the high-end product shoot it deserved – with just a small budget and a two man team.

Conversations Finland

BRIEF: Two weeks to launch a Finnish edition of Nokia Conversations.

We’re never afraid of deadlines, but two weeks to deliver a ground up new edition of Nokia Conversations absolutely tested our mettle (not to mention our patience). Sentences were kept short, niceties to a minimum and instead we focussed on taking the best of Nokia Conversations and making it work brilliantly for Nokia’s home soil.

The result? A near-perfect site ready for Nokia’s deadline.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Holland:+447515 677 992 | jh@republicpublishing.co.uk

Design and build

nokia

Humans Invent

BRIEF: Help underline Sharp’s focus on craftsmanship and help people connect the brand with its core philosophies.

Sharp came to us with an unusual challenge. How could we help better associate Sharp with its core philosophy of craftsmanship. With a rich heritage, Sharp offered an opportunity to take a fresh look at how brands engage with people and HumansInvent.com was born.

With craftsmanship, innovation and design at its heart, HI unearths unique and interesting stories around these philosophies both from within Sharp and in the wider world, creating an editorial mix of unique and interesting topics.

Angry Birds cake viral video

Mike’s son was a serious Angry Birds fan, so to celebrate his 6th birthday he built him a playable Angry Birds cake with projectile marzipan birds and a working catapult, documenting the whole experience on film. To get it out there we used our blog, Electricpig, as a launchpad, actively seeding the video with peer sites and through social. Within hours it went viral, having initially received pick-up on Mashable. Among its countless accolades it has been watched over 10 million times, featured on over 1 million websites worldwide, and the cake continues to be recreated by hundreds of fans on YouTube.

The Gadget Show website

We’ve long been at the centre of the gadget editorial universe. When Channel Five wanted a new agency to produce the website editorial for The Gadget Show website in 2007, they came to Republic.

Fresh from our roles at T3 magazine, we were primed to deliver quality editorial every day. Over the last five years we’ve been through multiple iterations of the site, a range of editors and writers, but we’ve been publishing fresh news and reviews every day non-stop since 2007 .

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Life. And death.

We’ve overcome a lot of the issues typically encountered when creating an editorially-driven website, and a lack of evolution or ambition is rarely one that impacts a Republic project.

Designed to be an outreach blog from Toshiba to its existing and potential customers, we were drafted in to help make the content more consistent and engaging. Within six months traffic was double what it was before we took over. Sadly, the rest of the site didn’t evolve and was canned after two years.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910 | jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

How we made a World of Difference

BRIEF: Bring the Vodafone World of Difference blog to life through compelling editorial.

Vodafone Foundation faced a classic big brand problem. Whilst the digital agency they’d chosen to create their blog were brilliant strategic thinkers, they didn’t have the specialist knowledge and experience to deliver world-class content with local feeling. Republic were drafted in to bring some of Republic’s infamous editorial snap to the World of Difference website. In the same way that Gok Wan does ‘how to look good’, we do ‘how to sound good’.

Sure Signal mystery solved

BRIEF: See how Vodafone Sure Signal stacks up against the competition.

Independent product reviews provide vital feedback for brand and product managers. When Vodafone wanted to see how its Sure Signal product stacked up against the competition they had a problem – there weren’t many reviews to go from. So they called on us.

We went mystery shopping for both products and wrote a completely independent review of each, showing how every part of the experience shaped up. We can’t say how we influenced the product’s evolution other than it’s better now than it was before.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910 | jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Community-led collaborative

creation

BREIF: Enable Conversation readers to design their own dream phone, and engage Nokia fans through crowdsourcing.

We launched Design by Community and asked Nokia Conversations readers to participate in a project where they could help craft their very own dream phone. We pulled in 75,000 votes in the first week, drew up fans’ ultimate smartphone and even had the final design mocked up in 3D by Nokia designers. Who said too many cooks spoil the broth?

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

ActiveDad unlocks new

adventures

BRIEF: Introduce Microsoft Office to family life.

The launch of Office 2010 gave us, and Microsoft, an opportunity to connect with people on a whole new level. Touching into an idea we’d been playing with for a while, we brought the best of Office’s features to life through exciting content focussed around family life. ActiveDad was born!

We weaved Office 2010 into everyday adventures with kids, exploring new and exciting things to do, places to visit and how to make the time dads spend with their kids even more fulfilling.

Walk Out Working videos

BRIEF: Help explore complex topics through video.

Delivering an experience online that’s comparable to the level of service you can get in store is a huge challenge. We worked with Best Buy to create a series of “Walk Out Working” videos across a range of topics.

Working with a specialist illustrator we created a series of live action videos which turned complex subjects into experiences anyone could understand, covering a range of technologies and brands.

Bringing the best to Britain

BRIEF: Equip one of the world’s largest retailers with knowledge and online strategy during its UK expansion.

Working with a giant retailer presented us with a whole new challenge and an intense one to boot. Best Buy came to us for a hand with its online presence, and we helped the team craft their tone of voice and create their fast paced online editorial strategy. We worked closely with their in-house content team, advising them on trends in the tech world and providing substantial volumes of content.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Conversations China

BRIEF: Launch Nokia Conversations in China. Learn Chinese.

With two successful years of growth on Nokia Conversations, the company’s official blog, we were tasked with launching the site in China. We didn’t know chinese and to be honest, we’re still learning. But, we got the site built, populated it with content, got our asses over to Beijing and trained up the local team. The site quickly became the second biggest in the Nokia Conversations network, an accolade it still boasts today.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Design and build

nokia

Female-focused laptop

editorial

BRIEF: Help develop an editorial touch point for women buying laptops.

Intel wanted to ensure women, as well as men, better understood the benefits of specific types of laptops. Creating mylaptop.co.uk offered somewhere to get impartial advice on what laptop to buy, how specific technologies worked and find out what technology was coming.

The campaign, which ran through 2009 and 2010 was supported editorially by Republic and we also gave the site a facelift, moving it to WordPress and enabling easier and faster access to key content.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Here are some phones. Try to

break them.

BRIEF: Hit some phones with a golf club and make a video.

The Nokia 3720 was designed to withstand any amount of abuse. They asked us to test it and record our tests and results. So, we hit it with a golf club, kicked it like a rugby ball, shot it with a paintball gun, swam with it in a freezing pool, dropped it in a pint of beer (then drank the beer), buried it in jelly (we didn’t eat the jelly) and we dropped it off the top of one of our houses.

nokia

Video

Under the skin of the Samsung

N310

BRIEF: Create a series of videos which would work across five different countries, and languages.

When Samsung brought in renowned designer Naoto Fukasawa they knew they had to bring the resulting product to life through video. With stunning design and killer features, the Samsung N310 made a perfect candidate for an Electricpig video campaign. We worked with the Samsung team to identify the laptop’s key features before scripting a series of four videos. The finished films were delivered through Electricpig’s YouTube channel with translated versions supplied for international editions.

Be an Asus Blogger

BRIEF: Turn our readers into bloggers for the launch of a new line of Asus laptops.

Asus was bringing out a whole new range of laptops and looking for a fresh way to bring their features to life. We foraged our gadget website, Electricpig.co.uk, to launch a competition to find six suitable bloggers. Each blogger was given a laptop from ASUS and guidance from the Electricpig team on how to write.

One of our more ambitious projects to pull off, the result was a great success for Asus, creating unique and interesting User Generated Content that really gets under the skin of these exciting new products.

Editorial to help drive

conversion

BRIEF: Utilise insightful editorial to enable people to make better purchasing decisions and drive conversion.

When PriceRunner wanted to launch its first blog, it turned to Republic Publishing to help them populate it with engaging editorial. Working with the internal team, we developed an editorial agenda and calendar, sustaining the site with daily updates. We also helped to develop the strategy of the site. Alongside evolving new editorial treatments for “The Insider” blog, we also worked with the internal team to seed content across all parts of the wider PriceRunner website, enabling users to find and engage with relevant content.

The unofficial, official UK

blog

BRIEF: Celebrate all that is Nokia in a rather unique, British, way.

In 2007 the world was a different place. Most people didn’t put apps on phones. Heck, most people didn’t even know what an app was. Those close to Nokia did, though and we were tasked with helping to unearth the mystique behind apps and show users what their phones could do. Five years on and NokNok.tv has evolved way beyond anything we’d ever imagined. With a solid audience and plenty to talk about the site continues to go from strength to strength.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

Editorial news, reviews and

features

BRIEF: Bring mobile phones to life through killer editorial.

Back in 2006 Dixons Stores Group made the decision to move its entire mobile phone business online. Early in 2007 Republic were drafted in to help develop a range of editorial content to sit alongside the all-new online store.

We continued to evolve a range of editorial treatments over the next three years until the store was subsumed under Currys.co.uk in 2010.

For more about this project, or if you’d like help on a similar project, contact James Beechinor-Collins:+44775 376 9910jbc@republicpublishing.co.uk

James Beechinor-Collins

Managing Director

I’ve worked in publishing for 18 years and I love it. Since I was a kid I wanted to work in magazines and following an award-winning career in publishing I switched fully to online in 2007. For me, web sites and apps are the magazines of tomorrow and what really makes them special, the people who come together to engage with them, is what drives my passion.

Many of the principles I learned from working at some of the best magazine and publishing houses in the UK are unrelentingly applied across Republic today. I also race BMX bikes.

Mike Cooper

Creative Director

As creative lead at Republic, I’m the guy responsible for ensuring we consistently conjure up brilliant new ideas and bring them to life effectively.

Our speciality at Republic is building long-lasting and deeply engaging owned-media channels for brands through authoritative industry-leading content and social media. Whether it’s editorial, video or social, I ensure everything we create is of a world-class standard. Alongside running creative at Republic and working on new business, I also direct our video production team and have been known to make the odd cake.

James Holland

Vice President

Being Vice President of Republic Publishing in London isn’t all showbiz and glamour. As well as advising on which champagne we should drink with lunch, I can also give you the nitty gritty on branded editorial strategy, new site builds or redesigns, our in-house technologies and the methodologies our highly-skilled editors, project managers, developers, video producers and journalists use to transform your online presence for the better.

I’m also an ex-journalist, so expect some awkward questions. Like who’s paying for all this champagne?

Ian Delaney

Group Editor

I am group editor at Republic. Wherever the danger of boredom lurks, wherever there’s an empty online space that needs a tasty helping of prime storytelling, I analyse the client’s needs, cook up an editorial strategy, fine tune it to within an inch of perfection and deliver the goods. Consistently. I’ve been in technology publishing for 15 years. Hello, you.

Mike Browne

Group Editor

I am the points-man for NokNok, unearthing the most interesting news stories and carrying out for long term device and software reviews. A large part of the job is engaging with a growing audience of Nokia fans primarily here in the UK.

When not focussing on all things Nokia, I’m in the background helping our other sites fine tune and develop their overall strategy.

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Luke Peters

Editor

Telling stories is what I do. Good ones, mind. Not the kind that’d land me in trouble with the law. Or worse, my wife. After writing for, and editing some of the UK’s biggest publishing titles for the best part of 15 years, I know how to engage readers and maintain an ever-evolving, ever-demanding audience.

As Microsoft Conversations Editor, I work with the teams in the UK, Finland and USA to create unique content for its millions of users, while using all manner of online and social tactics to scoop up and delight new waves of fans.

When I’m not plugged into the digital world, you can find me in the analogue one – struggling up Box Hill on my bike, eating cheese, or getting blisters thumbing through old vinyl at car boots. I find it a welcome balance…

Ben Sillis

Managing Editor

I run point as the editor of The Gadget Show and head chief of editorial for both Red Bull Games and Red Bull eSports, making sure we’re getting the best stories and even better headlines. A sort of quarterback for all things gadgets, gaming and technology. Just minus the exercise.

I’m also a massive apostrophe pedant, so if you need someone to make sure all your words on a page are as squeaky clean as they are exciting, let me know and I’ll come round with a mop and bucket.

Adam Bunker

Associate Editor

As Associate Editor for Vodafone Social, it’s my job to wring out the most exceptional stories from around Vodafone, put them through the word mangle and lovingly crank the handle. What comes out the other end should surprise and amaze you in equal measure.

I’m an amateur novelist, an iPhone app maker, a connoisseur of cheeses, a TinTin lookalike and (much like Shakespeare) I have invented more words than you’ve probably ever even learnerated.

Philip Barker

Senior Staff Writer

After an action-packed decade of tracking technology, being awed by gadgets and offering advice about mobile phones and laptops, I made the slightly unorthodox step into the charity sphere, looking after the World of Difference website for Vodafone. It’s unusual, it’s interesting, it’s challenging, and it does genuinely feel like we’re making a difference. It can also be heartbreaking – just check out some of the stories from fundraisers, many of whom are tough beyond belief.

Jeppe Christensen

Vice President

I’m Republic’s Vice President in San Francisco, working with our clients in the United States to create highly shareable, editorially-driven content, and demonstrate how it can have a meaningful impact on their business. I have more than 15 years of journalism experience, a deep passion for technology, and a love of learning new things. I also box on an amateur level and love riding my cyclecross bike around San Francisco.

Rhea Borja

Deputy Editor

As deputy editor for Microsoft Conversations, I help create and edit compelling news and stories for smartphone users worldwide.

I have more than 15 years of experience as a journalist and communications pro, including a stint as a space-technology media rep for NASA. My reportage has taken me from Washington, D.C. to Singapore and points in between, but I call California home.

Offline, you can find me banging away at the piano (sorry, neighbours!), exploring Napa and Sonoma’s wineries, and running the backcountry trails of the Sierra Nevada.

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Nishtha Arora

Contributing Editor

I am a storyteller. I love writing about the exciting world of gadget and gizmos. Fiddling with the latest mobiles gives me an extra-terrestrial experience.
When the world went mobile, back in India we were queuing up to get landlines installed. That was then. As Conversations Editor for India, I thank the technology god for blessing the world’s largest democracy with smart devices.

When not twiddling with the new gadget in town, I keep myself occupied by reading about it. My dream is to make a futuristic comedy, if that is a genre. Mobiles, fast cars and watching world cinema keep me sane. I am a communications professional with over five years of experience in television and print media houses.

Adam Fraser

Reporter

Being a staff writer at Republic Publishing means that you’ll often find me tapping feverishly at my keyboard trying to hit a deadline for Microsoft Conversations. This finger-tapping, keyboard-prodding action produces the latest news in the form of interview pieces from Microsoft and Nokia employees and business partners, and reviews of the latest apps or games.

Writing for Microsoft Conversations means that I’m usually surrounded by several phones which try their best to distract me throughout the day. Sometimes I lose the battle and you’ll find me ‘researching’ a new game or app.

Ali Cottong

Social Editor, DVLUP.com

Managing the social half of DVLUP teaches you a lot about how to speak geek. Luckily I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and learned how to use a computer not long after I learned how to read. I’m happy to be working in the digital space once again.

Prior to joining the team, I worked in video production, making marketing videos for local tech clients. I love the challenge of translating dry business objectives into actually enjoyable creative content – that’s what makes my job fun. I’m also a former international level Quidditch player. Honest.

Alicia Fischer

Creative Manager

I’ve always wanted to work doing something creative, whether that’s involving photography, writing or other forms of artistic expression. I articulate myself best through writing and photography than speaking out loud, and working at Republic allows me to do just that. On a daily basis you’ll find me photographing events around the US, producing videos, or duking around in Photoshop for the Nokia US social channels. I also help to keep the Nokia US fans happy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by producing plenty of fun, killer content.

I’m a huge magazine and music junkie but also a foodie and I love to cook. I couldn’t live without my subscriptions to Bon Appétit and Rolling Stone magazines, taking in all the amazing photos that help to inspire my own work – maybe I can shoot something for you?

Desiree Constance Choy

Social Editor/Community

Manager

You can find me planning and concocting social editorial for Microsoft by day, and singing and travel writing by night. I love to write, edit, and re-edit, and won’t stop editing until what I’m trying to say sounds right. I love working together with the Republic team to dream up and bring to life ideas that will not only rock, but make heads turn and provoke some great reactions.

I’m a proud Cal Bear and San Franciscan with an insatiable appetite for exploring foreign places and meeting new faces. One of my favorite ways of bringing people together is through music – though sharing ice cream is also a good tactic. Fun fact: I’m the unofficial hand model and voice over artist behind Nokia’s Vine channel.

Nataja Lutkenhouse

Marketing Manager,

Influencers & Advocacy

As a Marketing Manager for Influencers and Advocates here at Republic, I keep myself very busy. I’m responsible for helping develop, grow and execute a stellar influencer program for our clients. Our goal is to raise awareness and consideration for the product, while encouraging unique and organic content production from influencers/advocates in the online world. I also help ensure that all influencer projects and events are planned and executed to perfection.

Prior to joining the Republic team, I worked in the PR & Marketing world and studied Communications and Psychology at University. I’m quite passionate about fashion, good wine and having a good laugh. In my spare time you can find me traveling the globe, laying by the ocean or seeking out a new adventure.

Carl Gresswell

Digital Producer

With nearly ten years of development knowhow under my belt, I’ve got a vice-like grip on web architecture and server-side technologies, and I eat PHP for breakfast.

It’s my job at Republic to work closely with developers, design teams, and testing teams throughout each build process, while offering creative input every step of the way to ensure that the end user experience is the best it can possibly be on everything we do.

Samuele Perrone

Lead Developer

Over the last eight years I’ve delivered web applications and websites for a bulging portfolio of top clients, treating each project as an exciting challenge and opportunity to learn, hone and deploy the latest in web technologies.

I’m Italian through-and-through, which means my appetite for PHP is only matched by a love for the other important ‘P’s in my life: Pizza and Peroni.

Design and build

Theo Hopkinson

Associate Social Editor

From editorial and video to social and graphic design, I make sure that all of our content is pitch perfect and ready to sing.

Whether it’s a blog, book or biopic, I’m the person you’re looking for. At Republic I work with multiple teams to push the boundaries of our content delivery, exploring emerging social media platforms and spotting new trends. When I’m not fiddling around on Photoshop or nose-deep in Twitter, I’m either at a play or forcing someone to watch The Mighty Ducks.

Eddy Boscolo

Lead System Administrator

As Lead System Administrator, I’m responsible for managing IT infrastructures, solving problems creatively and pro-actively, and approaching tricky complications with scalable, elegant and maintainable solutions.

Over the last six years, I’ve worked on Linux Systems and Internet Security, which is also my passion. At Republic, that’s put into practice, as I manage support activities, as well as pro-actively monitor and administrate all assigned systems to maximise uptime and keep our sites ticking day in and day out. I’m also curious as an ethical hacker and this helps me to stay up to date on my field.

Lee Peters

Head of Social, EMEA

What my parents and friends think I do: Sit on Facebook and Twitter all day and drink tea.

What I actually do: As Head of Social, I advise, drive forward and oversee all social media activity across the company, from content planning, outreach and influencer projects to internal communications and more.

As social media is being integrated into many facets of Republic’s offering, I make sure that all our team members and clients are engrained in using social, allowing it to be at the heart of what they do.

Meanwhile, if you supply me with hot weather, BBQ and a jug of Pimms, I’ll be more than happy.

Sarah Baker

Video Producer

Video can speak louder than words and has an incredible ability to evoke an emotional response from the audience that can create engage and further loyalty. As a producer, it’s my job to make sure that we have everything we need – the people, the place and the perfect tone – to tell a story and enable us to create a video that bridges the gap between a brand and its audience.

With a background in broadcast factual television production for major UK terrestrial and digital channels, I bring creative, planning and logistical skill sets to the Republic video team. Working with people from all backgrounds, jobs and walks of life who have great stories to share through video content is simply incredible – I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning from my insight into other people’s work and lives.

When I’m not at work, you’ll probably find me trying to get some fresh air: I grew up in the country and London smog just doesn’t cut it!

Sarah Lysecki

Editor

Working closely with the CA comms team, I’m helping shape the blog narrative to take the reader on a journey through the brave new world where every business is becoming a software business. It’s an ‘appy place. Where would my fitness goals be without my workout app that delivers boot camp (and subsequently pain) right to my phone?

Having started my career as a tech hack in Canada, my home and native land, I know a thing or two ‘aboot’ what makes enterprise IT tick. When I’m not on the clock though, I enjoy getting out for a ride (or playing Frogger through London traffic) on my 80s vintage Dutch racer.